Melbourne reaches membership milestone

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 13: Jack Viney of the Demons in action during the 2016 NAB Challenge match between the Melbourne Demons and the St Kilda Saints at Etihad Stadium, Melbourne on March 13, 2016. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media)

MELBOURNE has broken its pre-round one membership record, signing up 32,623 members by Thursday morning.

With the previous record set at 32,451, the club smashed the target nine days out from the season opener, off the back of the annual membership telethon on Wednesday night.

Midfielder Jack Viney said breaking the record was an exciting milestone ahead of the home and away season.

“I was with the players and the staff last night calling our members who hadn’t renewed and we signed up a few last night,” he told SEN Breakfast.

“So we got the exciting news from the club this morning that we’d broken the record.”

The membership milestone caps off a strong pre-season for Melbourne, which won all three of its NAB Challenge matches.

Having spoken to multiple members during Wednesday night’s telethon, Viney said there was an “excited” feeling around the club heading into the season.

“Everyone seems super happy and super excited with the way the club’s going at the moment,” he said.

“So it’s looking like a really exciting year off the back of some really strong membership numbers and a strong NAB Challenge campaign.”